Venetian blind construction



April 28, 1959 I E. A. LANDO ETAL 2,834,052 I I VENETIAN BLINDCONSTRUCTION Filed- Sept. 25, 1957 ZSheets-Sheet 1 Fig.5

INVENTORS Ellis A. Lando Y Karl A. Klenz 1 39 Attorneys April 1.959 E.A. LANDO E AL I 2,884,052

VENETIAN BLIND CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 25, 1957 v 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

INVENTORS Ellis A. Lando Attorneys Karl A.-KIenz f United States PatentVENETIAN BLIND CONSTRUCTION Ellis A. Lando, Mill Valley, and Karl A.Klenz, San Anselmo, Calif., assignors to Lando Products, Inc.,Sausalito, Calif., a corporation of California Application September 23,1957, Serial No. 685,651

7 Claims. (Cl. 160-168) This invention relates generally to a Venetianblind construction and more particularly to a Venetian blindconstruction in which the slats can be readily removed and in which theblind can be lifted while it is tilted.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No.481,866, filed January 14, 1955, now US. Patent No. 2,838,110, issuedJune 10, 1958, and entitled Venetian Blind Construction Heretofore inconventional Venetian blind construction, the lift cords have beensecured to the bottom rail and threaded through openings in the slats,and have been reeved over pulleys. Since the lift cords pass through theslats, it is impossible to remove the slats from the Venetian blind forcleaning unless the Venetian blind is disassembled. When the lift cordspass through openings in the slats, the lift cords facilitate stackingof the Venetian blind slats when the Venetian blind is raised. How ever,other means must be provided to facilitate the stacking of the slats toprevent the slats from slipping off of the bottom rail.

In general, it is an object of the present invention to provide aVenetian blind construction in which the slats are readily removable forcleaning.

Another object of the invention is to provide a Venetian blindconstruction of the above character in which means is provided forpreventing the slats from slipping off of the bottom rail as theVenetian blind is raised.

Another object of the invention is to provide a Venetian blindconstruction of the above character which may be raised while theVenetian blind is tilted.

Another object of the invention is to provide a Venetian blindconstruction in which the means for preventing the slats from slippingoif of the bottom rail collapses with the slats.

Another object of the invention is to provide a Venetian blindconstruction of the above character in which the means for preventingthe slats from slipping off of the bottom rail does not protrude fromthe Venetian blind.

Additional objects and features of the invention will appear from thefollowing description in which the pre ferred embodiment has been setforth in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a Venetian blind constructionembodying our invention.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 3.

Figure 3 is an enlarged front elevational view of a portion of theVenetian blind construction.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure3.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing the collection ofVenetian blind slats as the Venetian blind is being raised while theslats are in a tilted position.

Figure 6 is a front elevational view of a portion of a Venetian blindincorporating another embodiment of our invention.

2,884,052 Patented Apr. 28, 1959 Figure 7 is a side elevational viewtaken along the line 7-7 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a front elevational view showing a portion of a Venetianblind construction incorporating another embodiment of our invention.

Figure 9 is a side elevational view taken along the line- 9-9 of Figure8.

In general, the Venetian blind construction embodying our inventionconsists of a Venetian blind in which the lift cords are pivotallyconnected to the ends of the bottom rail, and in which cage means aremounted on the bottom rail. The cage means is provided with upwardlyextending members which are pivotally mounted relative to the bottomrail and is adapted to be positioned by the lift cords and the cagemeans serves to prevent the slats from slipping off of the bottom rail.

As illustrated in the drawing, the Venetian blind consists of aplurality of horizontal slats 11 which are supported by a pair of laddertapes 12 and 13. The lower ends of the ladder tapes are secured to abottom rail 14 whereas the upper ends of the ladder tapes are secured toa top or head rail 16. The construction of the ladder tapes 12 isconventional and is well known to those skilled in the art. Means (notshown) also well known to those skilled in the art is normally providedfor tilting the top rail, the ladder tapes and the Venetian blind slatscarried thereby.

Means is provided for raising and lowering the Venetian blind andconsists of a pair of lift cords 18 and 19 which have their lower endspivotally connected to the ends of the bottom rail at a pointintermediate the side edges of the bottom rail. As shown in the drawing,the ends of the cords are looped and fastened to pins 21 mounted in theends of the bottom rail. The lift cords extend upwardly and confrontopposite free ends of the slats to hold the slats in place. The cordsare reeved over pulleys 23 and 24 mounted adjacent the head rail andterminate in a loop 26 which is used for raising and lowering theVenetian blind in a manner well known to those skilled in the art.

A cage assembly 28 is mounted on each end of the bottom rail andconsists of a U-shaped bracket 29 which is fixed to the bottom rail. Apair of spaced members 31 and 32 have lower ends pivotally connected tothe bracket 29 as shown in the drawing. The upper ends of the members 31and 32 are fastened together by a U-shaped tie member 33 which has itsouter ends pivotally connected to the members 31 and 32 by suitablemeans such as the blocks 34. The blocks 34 are fixed to the members 31and 32 and are provided with openings through which the ends of theU-shaped tie member 33 rotatably extend to permit pivotal movement ofthe tie member relative to the members 31 and 32. Guide means is carriedby the U-shaped tie member 33 and consists of a member'36 which has itsopposite ends fixed to the intermediate portion of the U-shaped tiemember and bent to provide an opening 37 which accommodates the liftcord.

The members 31 and 32 are provided with bent portions 38 and 39 whichaccommodate the bottom rail when the bottom rail is tilted as shown inFigure 5 and as hereinafter described. The members 31 and 32 normallyextend upwardly at generally right angles to the horizontal plane formedby the bottom rail, and are of such a length that all of the Venetianblind slats can be collected within the cage assembly when the Venetianblind is raised.

Operation of our Venetian blind construction may now be brieflydescribed as follows: As is well known to those skilled in the art, thebottom rail serves to collect the Venetian blind slats as the bottomrail is raised by pulling downwardly on the looped portion 26. In Figure1, the Venetian blind is shown in a position in which the Venetian blindslats are not tilted and in which the Venetian 3 blind has been onlypartially opened and only a few of the Venetian blind slats have beencollected. Since the lift cords 18 and 19 are normally taut, the pair oflift cords will serve to prevent longitudinal movement of the Venetianblind slats and will prevent the Venetian blind slats from slipping outof the ladder tapes. However, if it is desired to remove the Venetianblind slats for cleaning, it is only necessary to shift one of the liftcords to one side or the other and then pull out the Venetian blindslats. The Venetian blind slats may then be cleaned and reinserted.

Since the bottom end of the lift cords are pivotally connected to thebottom rail, it is readily apparent that the Venetian blind slats can bereadily tilted to permit the desired amount of light to pass through theVenetian blind.

When a Venetian blind is raised while it is tilted, the Venetian blindslats will have a tendency to slide ofi of the bottom rail because thebottom rail is also tilted. As shown particularly in Figure 5, the cageassembly 28 provided on each end of the bottom rail serves to collectthe slats as they are gathered by the bottom rail and prevents the slatsfrom slipping off of the bottom rail. Thus, the Venetian blind can bereadily raised while the slats are still tilted. It will be noted thatwhen the Venetian blind is tilted the cage assembly collapses with theVenetian blind slats and does not protrude from the Venetian blind.

It is readily apparent that the cage assemblies also serve to facilitatecollection of the Venetian blind slats even though the Venetian blind isnot tilted as shown particularly in Figure 4. Thus, the cage assemblies28 prevent lateral movement of the slats relative to the bottom rail butpermit ready removal of the slats for cleaning. It will be noted thatthe members 31 and 32 are maintained in a proper position by the liftcord which passes through the opening 37 provided in the U-shaped tiemember 33. Thus it can be seen that the cage as semblies 28 are similarto parallelogram means, and always maintain the members 31 and 32 in avertical position.

Another embodiment of our invention is illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 inwhich cage assemblies 42 are pivotally mounted on the pins 21 atopposite ends of the bottom rail 14. The cage assemblies 42 are formedof suitable material such as wire and consist of upper and lowerU-shaped portlons 43 and 44 which have their ends joined by Straightportions 46. The upper U-shaped portion 43 is provided with a loop 47 inits intermediate portion which is adapted to accommodate the lift cordfastened to the pin 21. The U-shaped portion 44 is provided with a loop48 intermediate its ends which is rotatably mounted on the pin 21 andpermits pivotal movement of the cage assembly 42 relative to the bottomrail. The loop 47 in the upper U-shaped portion 43 serves to maintainthe cage assembly in the proper position. The operation of thisembodiment of our Venetian blind construction is substantially identicalwith that of the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to except that the cageassemblies do not collapse with the Venetian blind slats as they aretilted.

Another embodiment of our invention is shown in Figures 8 and 9 andconsists of cage assemblies 51 which are mounted on opposite ends of thebottom rail 14. However, in this embodiment of our invention, the bottomrail is shown formed of metal rather than wood as in the previousembodiments. The cage assemblies 51 consist of a sleeve 52 which has thesame configuration as the bottom rail and which is adapted to be slippedover the end of the bottom rail. The sleeve can be formed of anysuitable material such as plastic. The sleeve 52 forms a rather tightfit with the end of the bottom rail and an insert 53 of suitablematerial such as metal is mounted within that portion of the bottom railcovered by the sleeve 52 to prevent collapse of the bottom .rail andalso .4 to prevent the sleeve from slipping off of the end of the bottomrail.

The insert 53 is secured to the sleeve 52 by suitable means such as ascrew 54 which is threaded through a member 56 and through the sleeve 52into the insert 53. The lower end of the lift cord is pivotallyconnected to the sleeve 52 by suitable means such as a screw 57 whichextends through the member 56 and is threaded into the insert 53. A pairof members 555 and 59 have their lower ends pivotally connected to theside margins of the sleeve 52 by suitable means such as the pinconnection shown. The upper ends of the members 58 and 59 are fastenedtogether by a U-shaped tie member 61 which has its ends pivotallyconnected to the members 58 and 59 by pins 62 which are pivotallymounted in the members 58 and 59 and have their ends fixed in the outerends of the tie member 61. A guide member 63 is pivotally connected tointermediate portion of the U-shaped tie member 61 by pin 64. The guidemember is provided with an opening which accommodates the lift cord.

Operation of this embodiment of our invention is substantially identicalto that 'hereinbefore described. Mounting the lift cords at the ends ofthe bottom rail permits removal of the Venetian blind slats forcleaning. The cage assemblies 42 prevent the slats from slipping off ofthe bottom rail when the Venetian blind is raised.

It is apparent from the foregoing that our Venetian blind constructionpermits the ready removal of Venetian blind slats for cleaning. The cageassemblies prevent the Venetian blind slats from slipping off of thebottom rail as the Venetian blind is raised and lowered. The cageassemblies are relatively compact and unobtrusive and do not detractfrom the appearance of the Venetian blind nor do they protrude from theVenetian blind as the Venetian blind is raised and lowered.

We claim:

1. In a Venetian blind construction, a top tilting rail, a bottom rail,ladder tapes connecting said rails, a plu rality of Venetian blind slatssupported by said ladder tapes, means for raising and lowering thebottom rail, said means including a pair of lift cords having theirlower ends connected to the opposite ends of the bottom rail, and cagemeans mounted on opposite ends of the bottom rail, the cage meansincluding a pair of members pivotally mounted relative to the bottomrail and extending upwardly from the bottom rail, and guide meansengaging the lift cord and pivotally connected to said pair of members,the lift cord serving to maintain said members in a substantiallyvertical position as the bottom rail is tilted, said members serving toprevent the Venetian blind slats from slipping off of the bottom rail asthe bottom rail is raised and lowered.

2. A Venetian blind construction as in claim 1, wherein said guide meansincludes a U-shaped member having its outer ends pivotally connected tosaid pair of members.

3. In a Venetian blind construction, a top tilting rail, a bottom rail,ladder tapes connecting said rails, a. plurality of slats supported bysaid tapes, means for raising said bottom rail, said means includinglift cords connected to the ends of the bottom rail intermediate theside edges of the bottom rail, the vertical portions of the lift cordsbeing disposed at and confronting the opposite free ends of the slats,and cage means mounted on each end of the bottom rail to prevent theslats from slipping off of the bottom rail as the Venetian blind israised and lowered, said cage means consisting of a pair of verticalmembers, means mounted on the bottom rail and pivotally connected to thelower ends of said pair of members, a U-shaped tie member having itsouter ends pivotally connected to the upper portions of said pair ofmembers, the axes of pivot of said members being parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the bottom rail, and guide means accommodating oneof said lift cords and mounted on said U-shaped member, said guide meansserving to maintain said pair of members in a substantially verticalposition as the bottom rail is tilted.

4. A Venetian blind construction as in claim 3 wherein the pivotalconnections for the lower ends of said pair of members are providedadjacent the side edges of the bottom rail.

5. A Venetian blind construction as in claim 3 wherein the means mountedon the bottom rails comprises sleevelike members having a configurationsimilar to a section of the bottom rail and slidable onto the ends ofthe bottom rail.

6. In a Venetian blind construction, a top tilting rail, a bottom rail,ladder tapes connecting said rails, a plurality of Venetian blind slatssupported by said ladder tapes, means for raising and lowering thebottom rail, said means including a pair of lift cords having theirlower ends connected to the opposite ends of the bottom rail, and cagemeans mounted on opposite ends of the bottom rail, the cage meansincluding a pair of members pivotally mounted relative to the bottomrail and extending upwardly from the bottom rail, the axes of pivot ofsaid members being parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bottom rail,and guide means engaging the lift cord and pivotally connected to saidpair of members, the lift cord serving to maintain said members in asubstantially vertical position as the bottom rail is tilted, saidmembers serving to prevent the Venetian blind slats from slipping ofi ofthe bottom rail as the bottom rail is raised and lowered.

7. In a Venetian blind construction, a top tilting rail, a bottom rail,ladder tapes connecting said rails, a plurality of slats supported bysaid tapes, means for raising and lowering said bottom rail, said meansincluding lift cords connected to the ends of the bottom railintermediate the side edges of the bottom rail, the vertical portions ofthe lift cords being disposed at and confronting the opposite free endsof the slats, and cage means mounted on each end of the bottom rail toprevent the slats from slipping off of the bottom rail as the Venetianblind is raised and lowered, said cage means consisting of a pair ofsubstantially vertical members, a sleeve-like member slidably mountedover the end of the bottom rail, an insert mounted within the end of thebottom rail, means connecting the sleeve-like member to the insert tosecure the same to the bottom rail, said means mounted on the bottomrail being pivotally connected to the lower ends of said pair ofmembers, a U-shaped tie member having its outer ends pivotally connectedto the upper portions of said pair of members, and guide meansaccommodating said lift cord and mounted on said U-shaped member, saidguide means serving to maintain said pair of members in a substantiallyvertical position as the bottom rail is tilted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

